I was just checking when I did my last update and lo and behold it was last Friday! Time flies when you're having fun. I've read three books since then so I'll update them and provide the synopses of my next books and also of any new books (assuming I received an this week) It'll be a surprise. 😎
Just Finished
"Death at Dawn by Caro Peacock introduces Liberty Lane, a Victorian woman, who, in this first story, is caught up in political intrigue and a possible attempt to overthrow Victoria's ascension to the throne.
Liberty lives with relatives while her father Jacques is traveling in continental Europe, escorting young rich men on tours of Italy and France. Liberty's brother is in India. Liberty gets a message from her father that he is returning and she is to meet him in London. Disregarding her father's instructions, she heads instead to Dover to meet him. Liberty ends up crossing the channel and going to Calais where she discovers her father has been killed 'in a duel' (purportedly).
She meets a variety of people in Calais and a kidnapping is attempted, from which she escapes. Liberty is hired by an elderly gentleman, Mr. Blackstone, to go to an estate north of London and pretend to work as a governess. Something is going on!
Liberty has two aims; one is to help Mr. Blackstone to discover what is going on at the Mandeville estate and the to discover who murdered her father. Oh yes, she also has acquired a horse from her father which Mr. Blackstone agrees to board nearby, along with Rancie's (the horse) keeper, a very nice man by the name of Amos Legge.
Something mysterious is going on at the Mandeville estate, Mandeville being a most unlikeable character. It is something to do with a possible challenger to Victoria's taking over the throne. As well, Liberty gets involved in helping Mandeville's stepdaughter Celia try to elope with her lover.
It's an interesting introduction to Liberty Lane, penniless, energetic and a smart woman. There are many things going on, mysterious happenings, questions about who is / are the bad guy(s) and who might be willing to help Liberty. The style reminds me somewhat of the Mary Russell mysteries by Laurie King. It flows nicely with the action building steadily. The plot is interesting and the ending was fairly satisfactory. I've got the next in line and look forward to getting into it. (3.5 stars)"
"Goth Girl and the Sinister Symphony by Chris Riddell is the 4th and final book in the excellent Goth Girl YA fantasy series. (There was also a 5th book, #2.5). Like the others, this was humorous, entertaining and a well-drawn story.
Ada Goth and her friends discover that Ada's dad, Lord Goth has organized a symphony for the locals. His mother, Sparkling Lady Carole, is also coming for a visit, accompanied by three young ladies, all potential brides for Lord Goth and step mother for Ada.
The symphony is being organized by Lord Goth's shady estate manager Maltravers and Ada and her friend's in the attic club feel the need to keep an eye on him. Lots of fun and neat pop culture references in this story, as you find in all of them. There is even an appearance by a certain Donald Ear-Trumpet and his bored wife Moravia. (He is described thusly - 'Donald Ear - Trumpet had very tiny hands which he was very self-conscious about. This was why he was obsessed with very big things, especially cannons')
But there are other neat characters, with references to pop culture and other stories. There is Shaun the Faun who may have come from the Narnia series. There is Bjork Bjorksdottir who is a member of the all girl band the Ladies of G.A.G.G.A. There is Tailor Extremely-Swift who accompanies Sparkling Lady Carole as her dress maker but is so much more than that.
I won't ruin the story by telling more about it. Suffice it to say it's a fun story and a suitable satisfactory ending to this excellent series. Try it with your young children. It'll be fun for them but like most successful YA stories, fun also for adults. (4.0 stars)"
"Slaves of Heaven by Edmund Cooper is the 3rd Sci Fi story from Cooper I've enjoyed since I discovered his work. He's not my favorite author in the Sci Fi genre but he is worth checking out.
In The Slaves of Heaven, we find a dystopian Earth. Earthmen, and this starts off in what was previously England. Humans are basically wanderers and live in tribes and often go to war against each other. There is another adversary who attacks at night, the Night Comers, who invade the various camps and steal away with the tribe's women.
Berry is the chief of the Londos tribe and he wants to stop wandering and build a permanent settlement. There is a risk to this. It makes them more susceptible to the Night Comers. There are hot spots throughout England and presumably the rest of the world. Berry finally gets his tribe to agree and they set up a camp. But one night, the Night Comers come, disable the men and steal off with the women. Berry manages to avoid being disabled and follows the attackers. He is captured and then finds himself in a city in the stars.
This begins the 2nd part of the story where Berry tries to save his wife and becomes a 'pawn' of one of the groups in this city, the Technos. He is the 'arrow' to the bow, so to speak. Berry will learn where he is, he will be given knowledge of the past of Earth, of technology, etc. and will use it to try and save Earth.
It's a neat story, flows nicely and has enough action to satisfy the reader. The playing off of Berry and his enemies is well presented. It's an interesting story, maybe a bit simple, but entertaining nonetheless. I do have a couple of other of Cooper's Sci Fi stories awaiting my attention and look forward to continuing to explore is work. (3.5 stars)"
Currently Reading
"BOOK 1 in the Wallace of the Secret Service Series. Sir Leonard is not the man to desire fame or notoriety. His chronicler has been forced to fall back on office records and information supplied by various members of the secret service, to tell of the struggles of Wallace and his intelligence officers and their battles against the Soviet Union, terrorism and subversion in the British Empire, Nazi Germany and the tentacles of global organized crime."
"Arrogant Virginia Barkeley, charged with the murder of Claude Margolis, is sleeping off a hangover in an Arbana jail.
Small - town America in the Fifties isn't used to homicide, and lawyer Eric Meecham hasn't had much practice at defending murderers in the dock.
Luckily for him, Earl Loftus appears and confesses to killing Margolis. A young man with a bloodstained trench coat to prove his guilt, Loftus has little in the way of motive and few friends; his only remaining family is an alcoholic mother. He himself is on the verge of death. Loftus is, it would seem, a man with nothing in the world to lose."
There you go. Jo will be home from work soon so I'd better finish making dinner. Have a great night.
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